A remarkable recent dearth of British & Irish Lions caps will end if Scotland maintain their Twickenham standardsIt is an understatement to say Scotland have not had the lion’s share when it comes to the British & Irish Lions. In the Six Nations era, one player has started a Test match, the prop Tom Smith who was an ever-present in the 2001 Test series in Australia.Since then, Scotland have supplied, and then infrequently, players to the bench. On the past four tours, they have had six replacements, three of whom came on: the second row Richie Gray was the last, 13 minutes from the end of the final Test in Australia eight years ago. Related: Six Nations: talking points from...
Players will not admit it, but the prospect of selection for tour of South Africa will be on their minds in this year’s tournamentDon’t let anyone tell you any differently – as much as the players won’t want to say so publicly the chance to push for the British & Irish Lions squad is already on their minds as the Six Nations begins. They would not be human beings if it wasn’t and, while it really goes up a notch around the time of the second fallow week, making that touring party is occupying thoughts now.At the start of their respective Six Nations camps, the players will have been subjected to one of the weirdest experiences of their careers –...
The pandemic and pending legal action mean the sport is fractured at the top tier and fearing for the existence of its grassroots levelWhen World Rugby’s chairman, Sir Bill Beaumont, launched his re-election campaign a year ago, he said he was excited by the opportunities for rugby union the future held. Twelve months on, the feeling is one of apprehension rather than anticipation as the game finds itself squeezed in a vice of the coronavirus pandemic and legal action taken by former players diagnosed with early-onset dementia. Related: Premiership Rugby refuses to rule out extending break amid 'serious concerns' Related: 2021: a year of hope or chaos for the biggest events in world sport? Continue reading...
The evidence is clear, the players’ stories are grim – we can only hope this is the wake-up call the game has neededSome pieces leap easily off the keyboard. Others cause your fingers to stiffen and any exuberance to drain away instantly. No rugby correspondent ever wants to write certain columns, and this is one.In many ways, too, the searing testimony of Steve Thompson, Alix Popham and Michael Lipman, so brilliantly told in these pages over the past two days by Andy Bull, has already laid bare the extent of the sport’s predicament. Related: Rugby urged to improve safety quickly to reduce risk of more lawsuits We are reaching a level where the players have got too big for their...
The unprecedented amount of rugby set to be played in the next 12 months is going to take a huge physical toll on playersThe fixtures for the Premiership’s restart give better clarity to the shape of the rugby calendar for the foreseeable future. We may not know who England will be playing in the autumn yet - and there is always the threat of a Covid-19 spike - but a second wave notwithstanding, the next year will bring a glut of top-level rugby.Restarting in mid-August will mean almost exactly 12 months of non-stop rugby. Great for fans, clubs and unions who have been so badly hit financially. Good for the sponsors, all kinds of stakeholders and for the players, who...